We are all portraits of grace!

​Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
                                                                                                                                                         John 1:16-17

If you could capture a portrait of your life, a collage of moments that defined who you are and what your life has been about, I wonder what your portrait might reveal, what defining moments from your journey you would include.

At the centre of my portrait of grace would be the image of a 17 year-old kid, who didn't think he needed God in his life, sitting in the corner of the ballroom at the Sheraton Brock motel in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on Good Friday, 1977.  If you looked closely you would see an open Bible as the the youth leader from Emmanuel Baptist Church, explained the way of salvation.  This was THE defining moment in my spiritual journey, when I surrendered to my life to Christ and received His grace and mercy.

When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. (Titus 3:4-5)

As you moved out from the center of my portrait you would see other snapshots of grace, moments when the Lord Jesus poured out more of His love and favor.  You would see a picture of my baptism in July of 1977, the day I married Janice in April of 1982, my graduation from Central Baptist Bible college in the spring of 1988, holding our daughter Lisa in September of 1988 at the back of the auditorium at Centennial Baptist Church as it is announced I had been called to become their next Senior Pastor.

There would be moments of great joy, but also moments of saddeness, when our gracious Father revealed Himself as the God who is our refuge and strength.  You would see me standing with my mom and the bedside of my grandfather shortly before he passed away or sitting on the side of the road, trying to hold it together after the unexpected death of Janice's dad. You would see a moment in time when I stood with the parents of a four year-old as the doctor tells them, 'I'm sorry we did all we could' or standing beside a grieving mother as a police officer informed her that her 25 year-old son had been murdered.  In those moments I experienced the fullness of God's sustaining grace.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Around all of those moments of grace discovered in times of joy or sorrow, would be images of those times when God met me along the path -- defining moments in my spiritual journey.  You would see me kneeling in a moment of surrender at the Clergy Conference in Atlanta; an historic event in which nearly 40,000 pastors from around the world gathered.  In that moment God's calling in my life was re-affirmed, leading to a season of growth in our church in Hamilton as many came to Christ and were baptizied over the next year and half.  You would see a picture of Janice and I sitting in our living room in Orangeville, Ontario with 25 of our closest and most-trusted friends surrounding us, praying for us and cheeering us on during a difficult period.  That moment became the catylyst for change that would eventually lead us to serve here at Valley.

All these moments were times when God broke into my life, to reaffirm His covenant of love, to reassure me of a truth He put on my heart shortly after intercepting my life at the age of 17:  Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6) 

My portrait would include numerous times when God stepped in my way, came alongside to walk with me or took me by the hand to lead me, reminding me that His desire is to break into my life and lead me in ways that are consistent with His calling for my life and reflective of His sheer goodness.

On the outise of my portrait would be the faces and names of those God has placed along my path as a means to pour out even more of His grace; friends and co-workers, Christian leaders and brothers and sisters in the Lord who have blessed me and built me up in the faith.  I think of John and Sandra, Don and Audrey, Bruce and Sue, Ray, Mark, Don, Glen and Kim, John and Mary to name only a few; men and women who came along side us at particular times in our journey, who were agents for God's grace at the time.  I have been incredibly blessed by a host of brothers and sisters in Christ who have been gifts of grace!

In all of this, I think of the words of Hebrews 12:  Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

We are all portraits of grace!  I wonder what would your portrait reveal?

​I was just sitting here reflecting on how covid has changed me. What am I going to learn from Covid and keep, as we move forward, and what will I embrace from pre Covid days? There is one scripture that seems to have stayed in the forefront of my mind throughout the pandemic, so I’m going to write from that perspective.
 
Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fuelled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.  (Romans 12:11-13 - The Message)


Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fuelled and aflame. ​ The world had come to a stop, and I had more than enough time to stop and smell the roses. I needed outside contact, I needed motivation and purpose to keep going. How was I going to do this?

Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. It was time to set priorities and discover how to bloom where I was planted. It was a challenge.

Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.  This is what I did as I’m sure you did as well. We drew on our inner strength, found ways to be helpful, and learned some awesome creative ways to do those things that were important to us.

I looked up the cliche, "Stop and smell the roses." There were seventy-seven ways listed to say the same thing. I chose seven I could relate to; achieve fulfillment, amuse oneself, appreciate the beauty of life, appreciate the good things in life, be at ease, be at leisure, be in the moment.

My goal became achieving fulfillment while smelling the roses. I’m keeping this goal after the pandemic. Pre pandemic I think I was caught in a vicious whirlwind of achieving fulfillment no matter the cost. It’s more of an attitude change than anything else. My work ethic will be the same but I’ve come to realize that if God gives me a job to do, He will also give me the time and resources to do it. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  (Colossians 3:15-17)

Seems to me that sounds like “trust Me and take time to smell the roses”. I came to a much better understanding of what the church is during the pandemic. I saw so many in Valley choosing their area of interest and making a commitment to make that part of the bigger church continue to function. What we can do is find that small group that we fit into and know that there are other small groups within the church contributing their special attributes to make Valley unique and whole. We don’t have to do everything. In fact there are others, who because of their particular interest, are far more capable than I of doing certain things. We all need to find our passion and bring it to God for his use. Team up with others with similar interests and see what God will do. You don’t need to labour where your heart isn’t. The church has many hearts and everything will get done without you burning out.

The picture will vary for each of you individually. For me, here is what I have learned and where I am headed. I believe we all need personal, close relationships within the church where we can contribute our individual talents. We also need a way to incorporate our Christian values into our daily living so we are constantly evangelizing to our spheres of influence. In my case that would be my family, my church family, my friends and neighbours, and my internet connections. This last one seems strange but I feel it is very important. It is new and it holds great potential for evangelizing and supporting people from a distance. This will be my post pandemic priority.

The Tender Loving Care group (TLC) has been a learning process throughout the pandemic. We tried a variety of formats and it was frustrating at times. However, despite the fact that we did lose some members, we gained new ones. We learned that daily contact and bible studying daily together was a good combination. In fact so good we will keep this format post pandemic. There is a need for a better understanding of the computer and we will teach each other once we can meet in person. We will be ready to reach out to all parts of the world, no matter where we are planted. Isolation is not a part of our future.

Essentially, TLC morphed into what I believe is a small group; a group of people with common interests who meet together to support, encourage and pray for each other. In addition, the group is part of the church and we look forward to being able to join the larger body of Christ each Sunday. Your idea of what the church should be may be way different than mine. Whatever it is, there are others like you. Find them, join with them for support and encouragement and bring your passion into reality. There is room for all personalities and the church is richer for our differences.